1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to footwear and more particularly to gaiter-type devices for covering lower extremities and boots or shoes against ingress of snow, water or unwanted debris.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gaiters have been used for centuries as items of clothing worn to protect the wearer from the elements. Today, the gaiter name is given to any of a variety of accessories for covering various parts of a wearer's body from the neck to the feet. Gaiters have a long history as military uniform accessories and often are found as protective fashion wear and sportswear. A typical gaiter associated with footwear can be found in the form of fabric attachments to fishing waders or for hiking boots and running shoes worn in sandy, snowy or muddy environs. Increasingly, varied gaiter devices appear as standard gear for skiers and snowboard enthusiasts attempting to keep snow from packing into the top openings of their boots. Gaiter devices generally are configured to attach in some manner to the footwear (shoe or boot), as by hook and loop fasteners (trade name VELCRO®), hook and eye fasteners, snaps, buttons, zippers, anchor straps, laces or other means.
Typical gaiter devices may be fabricated of leather, plastic, canvas or other well known materials. They may be relatively brief or short, for example to barely cover an upper surface of a shoe. On the other hand, footwear gaiter devices may reach as high as the knee, or even higher in the case of waders. In all known cases, gaiters serve the purposes of guarding against the entrance of unwanted materials around the wearers feet and/or keeping the wearer's lower extremities warm and dry. Some are designed merely to protect against scuffing the upper surface of the shoe or boot. The following are patented (or patent pending) devices of interest relative to the present invention.
Chen's U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,788 presents a specially designed sports shoe with a footwear-encompassing gaiter device interconnected at its ends by attached hook and loop fastener panels. Chen's gaiter surrounds the sport shoe and is directly, rigidly interconnected to the shoe by a concealed zipper device affixed at the top of the shoe upper. The Chen gaiter device is constructed of material such as polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or a fabric and is presented as encompassing the wearer's shoe and ankle only once. The precise extent of the Chen gaiter about the wearer's leg is predetermined, not only by the affixed zipper mechanism but also by the location of cooperating hook and loop fastener panels at facing ends of the gaiter. In other words, the Chen gaiter will have a constant circumferential reach even when zippered to other shoes. The Chen device is for keeping pebbles and such from entering the sports shoe and is not disclosed as having utility apart from this custom designed shoe configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,066, issued to Campbell, shows a fashion/exercise garment which includes warming wraps in the form of elongated bindings secured by hook and loop fastener sections. There is no disclosure of application to prevent injury or to guard against entry of debris. In other words, Campbell is silent as to any use for bracing and ankle joint against injury (internal or external), nor is there any mention of use for addressing rough or debris littered terrain. Finegan, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,872,745, shows a spat-type shoe cover where the upper portion is wrapped once about the user's ankle and leg, and terminates at a fixed circumference about the wearer's limb. The wrapping extent is predetermined by placement of rigid clasps. Only the very lower portion of Finegan's shoe cover includes an inner lining of foam rubber. To hold the Finegan cover in place the lower portion of the spat includes a strap affixed beneath the shoe sole.
Vallieries also was granted U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,895 for a shoe cover for sports shoes. This cover arrangement includes a first flexible sheet portion completely covering the shoe upper and heel portion of a sports shoe. Attached to the first flexible sheet portion by means of hook and loop fasteners (spaced to provide air circulation) is a second flexible sheet portion covering the ankle and lower calf of the wearer. Hook and loop fasteners (e.g., VELCRO® fasteners) disposed along the shoe sole, hook and loop fasteners serve to affix the second sheet portion directly to the shoe. The sheet portion disposed about the ankle includes a pleated portion to accommodate differences in leg size while an additional hook and loop fastener strip is positioned at the shoe cover top opening so as to close the upper fold.
Johnson's U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,437 shows a gaiter and bootie foot cover combination. The gaiter is a rectangular wrap with a removable insulating, waterproof liner affixed to the bootie by strips which may comprise hook and loop (VELCRO®) fasteners. The Johnson bootie-gaiter is joined together by vertical zipper elements and snaps which determine the extent of the circumferential wrap, and further employs a holding strap fastened beneath the boot sole.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,864, Brewer presents a robust protective garment that provides full wrap-around protection in the form of a legging. The garment is generally rigid and requires an inner support frame. Again, the extent of the wrapping (in terms of tightening or loosening by the wearer) is wholly dictated by the legging fasteners positioned at a rear garment seam.
Evans, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,230,291, illustrates a hollow legging fastened directly to a rubber shoe cover. Both are waterproof and are pre-sized in terms of their extent about the foot and leg. The Evans legging is stretchable about the leg and ankle but is fixed to the shoe at predetermined points and terminates in a vertical zipper. There is no indication that the Evans device can be wrapped more or less tightly than allowed by the predetermined shoe attachment placement.
Diaz's U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,493 illustrates a safety cover for shoes, boots and the like where the cover comprises an inner layer and outer layer of durable fabric, and including a lining of woven and non-woven aramid fiber fabric therebetween. Patentees Fowler et al. illustrate in their U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,537 a single wrap ankle warmer secured by a hook and eye arrangement, and perceived as more fashionable than functional. Rudy's footwear patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,945) discusses shoe structure material composition options as including Neoprene®, polyvinyl chloride and polyurethane in shoe parts in the context of shoe-sole loads and rebound qualities.
Apart from the above-discussed patent-focused activity, Internet-based web site vendors offer a variety of footwear accessories in the form of gaiter or gaiter-type devices for avoiding entry into boots or shoes by snow, dirt, sand, rocks, mud and pebbles. For example, water resistant leggings from Knee-Necks, LLC are offered under the trademark KNEE-NECKS™. These leggings cover the user from knees to ankles. Each legging unit is custom quilted and sized such that the ends encircle the lower leg to a predetermined extent. The encircling ends include matching strips of hook & loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro® fasteners).
Another commercial product of the gaiter type is offered as DirtyGirlGaiters sold by Zombie Runner under the trademark DirtyGirlGaiters™ and includes stretch Spandex® material with a mechanical hook configured to affix the device at a front shoelace of a running shoe. This device is then drawn toward the rear or heel of the shoe where matching strips of hook and loop attachments (e.g., Velcro® fasteners) complete the shoe interconnection, again at predetermined locations. Typical of Internet-based web site retail sites, the descriptions and depictions are un-dated.
The technologies mentioned hereabove are presented only as general background information and in no way as admission of applicable prior art relative to the invention claimed herein. Reviewing previous gaiter-related prior technologies, it is particularly notable that none enjoys the multiple features and advantages provided by the present invention. All suffer from one or more of the following shortcomings. For example, the applicability of most gaiter type devices, in terms of manually-adjusted tightness, is limited by design to predetermined collaborative design features. For example, they have been configured to encircle the wearer's lower leg and/or shoe top only to predetermined points of mechanical connection, except for some devices with slightly adjustable top closures. In general, they are not adjustable throughout their extent of application to the user's foot and ankle to afford important bracing support and overall, conforming tightness as an effective barrier to debris and water.
Also, in most configurations, the preexisting gaiter devices are mounted only through a user's tiring exertion of considerable dexterity during extended periods of back-bending strain. Another shortcoming with previous wraps of the gaiter type is that they generally are designed to encircle the leg or ankle only once before terminating at a determined fastener placement location (e.g., clasp, zipper, or other connection device) resulting in a loose covering of single thickness.
Currently available gaiter devices lack durability in that they frequently include design features such as tiny hooks, tabs, under-sole straps, and zippers prone to structural failure in rugged outdoor working environs or rigorous sports settings. Even if the prior art fasteners were more durable, they typically are cumbersome and limit users' mobility. Besides that, more complexly detailed gaiter structures with interconnection details and such are expensive to manufacture since their fabrication and assembly call for skilled laborers working with relatively expensive specialty metal or high impact plastic parts.
Dimensions of known gaiter devises and the location of their attachment elements limit their ability to adequately “fit” the ankle and boot top area in the effective manner offered by the present invention. They also lack comfort and aesthetic appeal. Beyond that, most are not conveniently storable between uses, for example, simply rolled into a coat pocket or glove compartment.
Finally, and importantly, existing gaiter-type devices do nothing to firmly brace a wearer's complex ankle joint and its supporting ligaments against twisting or turning on rough terrain, nor do they help guard against costly injury from heavy or sharp rocks, encounters with construction equipment and the like. The present invention, on the other hand, is an elegantly simple but clever configuration thoughtfully designed to effectively address all of the above-noted shortcomings. Moreover, it does so in an expensive and stylish manner.
Disclosed herein are inventive gaiter devices and their method of use which are, by design, exceptionally effective, durable and long-lasting. They are easily applied in seconds and are universally applicable to any size ankle or any mid-top work, hiking, basketball or running shoes. The inventive gaiter devices function without requirement for footwear-based attachment features. Use of the devices requires no special training. Manufacture of the inventive gaiter devices commands no special machining skills. The inventive gaiter devices can be inexpensively packaged, stocked and shipped. They enjoy a clean aesthetic appearance and require minimal dexterity or back-bending effort in their application. They can be readily cleaned by hand or automated washer, using water or soapy water, and between uses are conveniently storable (e.g., in a pocket or glove compartment).
The present invention is elegantly simple to make and use and, importantly, enjoys universal applicability to any ankle/boot size and in combination with any type of footwear without requiring provision of mutually interconnecting fasteners (between gaiter and footwear). The foam skin inner surface, to be described herebelow, with its high coefficient of friction, affords traction in gripping the surface of the boot or shoe with a traction that resists upward creep when worn.
Clearly setting it apart from all known prior art gaiter type devices, the present invention's strategically doubled layers, constructed and configured as will be described more in detail herebelow, delivers a number of advantages. The inventive devices and their method of application effectively and continuously prevent ingress of unwanted debris and the like (in this context, including snow, water and solid particulates), while also offering considerable warmth to the wearer. The foam-backed fabric of the inventive devices, absent any attachment devices other than its own self hook and loop engagement, can be elastically stretched tightly in a protective double layer and firmly secured about the footwear top edge. Entry of annoying and injurious debris, snow and water is decisively prevented. Moreover, whether the footwear is mid-top or low-top, the wearer's ankle is protected from outside injury by sharp stones and other objects as well as internal injury through painful twisting on rugged, rocky landscapes and shifting sand.